


Let Me Help You (Let Me Love You, Too)

by MalecAcid



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23567491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalecAcid/pseuds/MalecAcid
Summary: As Robbe starts to drown in the work of taking care of his mom, dealing with his dad, and studying for his exams, all Sander wants to do is be there for him, but he can't be when he doesn't even know what's going on.
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 8
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first sobbe fic!! I really hope you like it!

Robbe could tell that Sander was worried. He had that look on his face, the one he used when he knew that something was up. He used it for when Robbe tried to surprise him for his birthday, he used it when Zoë and Senne broke up, but he was fine. Robbe was fine. Not being able to breath was absolutely fine. 

"Do you want me to come up? You sound stressed, you look tired." Robbe rolled his eyes but conjured up as much of a smile as he could. 

"Sander, I'm fine. And slightly insulted, I look tired? Do I have bags?" He smiled painfully, ignoring the quiet growl his stomach gave, and the way if he blinked too slow he would start to drift off. 

Sander grinned, the look of concern leaving his face momentarily. "No no, you look great." Robbes eyes softened. 

Before Robbe could reply, he heard a small crash come from the kitchen and turned to Sanders questioning look. 

Robbe tried to smile. "Alright, I have to study, I have exams tomorrow." The look of concern appeared back on Sanders face. Robbe cursed himself mentally, he was worrying Sander just as he was coming out of a deppresive episode, he needed to be better. 

"Are you sure? Maybe you should take a break?" Robbe felt a small ball of panic begin in his chest, steadily growing as his phone rang beside him with his fathers name appearing, and with the thought of not being able to pass the exams.

"No, I have to pass these, but I am fine, I'll take a break when these are over. I promise." Sander sighed. "I love you."

Sander smiled softly. "Love you too, make sure you sleep tonight."

Robbe sighed but saluted playfully. "Yes mom." He said, exaggerating." 

Sander smiled and hung up the call. Leaving Robbe to let the ball of panic in his chest to grow slowly as he looked around at his messy room, his breathing growing rapid as he heard another crash from the kitchen and saw an angry text from his father, detailing exactly what he had done wrong. 

He stood and went to the kitchen to see what the crash had come from, and saw his mom in the doorway, holding a pan and staring at the counter.

Robbe sighed. "Mom, what is it?" He didn't understand what was happening, she had been doing great for weeks now, and had not had an episode since she left the hospital. There was no build up pointing to this. 

Robbe gently placed his hand on her shoulder only for her to flinch away and look quickly at him. Her expression relaxed. "Oh, Robbe, there you are, I've been calling for you, you know." He looked up at her. 

"Yes mom, I think you should go to bed, it's getting late, no?" She looked around quickly before nodding, allowing her son to lead her to her bedroom before laying down. Before Robbe could leave the room, she frantically grabbed his arm. 

"Make sure you be careful in the kitchen, Robbe, I don't want you to get hurt now." She said, looking at him intensely. 

He pulled a tight smile and nodded. "Of course mom, you just get some sleep." He made a mental note to call her doctor in the morning, when it wasn't so late.

He sighed, and walked as quietly as he could to his room. He picked up his phone- 2 missed calls and 1 message from his father. He clicks the message. 

'You can't answer one phone call for your own father? You are a disgraceful son, the last hope I have for you is that you don't turn out like your mother.' Robbe clicks off his phone and throws it to his bed. 

He walks over to his desk and sits down, looking at the time it reads- 11 p.m. Robbe sighs and turns back to his schoolwork, the ball of panic in his chest still continuing to grow as he attempts to be productive, only to fall asleep at his desk. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When he wakes up and checks the clock, the ball of panic in his chest doubles in size at, the sight of 10 a.m. He was supposed to be at school an hour ago. He checks his phone to see several texts from Sander and the boy squad group chat. He quickly texts both that he just slept in. 

He goes to his moms room to see her sound asleep, and makes another mental note to call her doctor during lunch. He speeds of to the town bus, sitting on the seats and dozing off, ignoring the clenching pain in his stomach. 

When he arrives at school, it is almost 10:30, and he immediately gets crowded into a corner by Sander, his hands cupping his face, the boy squad behind him. 

"Fuck, baby, " He hears Jens snicker behind him but ignores it. "You look so tired, did you get any sleep at all? When was the last time you ate?" Robbe rolls his eyes in what he hopes is a reassuring way. 

"Sander, I'm fine. I slept and ate this morning." The lie makes his heart clench, but the smile Sander gives him, even with worry making it tighter, the ball of panic in his chest loosens, and he'll call it a win. "I have to get to class, but I'll walk you home after?" Sander smiles and releases him with a nod, and Robbe chooses to ignore the concern in his gaze as he walks off, even though his heart clenches just as painfully as his empty stomach. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He tries his hardest not to nod off while taking the exam as Yasmina looked at him with concern. After the professor left the room she turned to him and shook his shoulder roughly. 

"Robbe... Robbe." He groaned and lifted his head from his hand, turning to look at her. 

"What?" She rolled her eyes. 

"Take your exam, and try to get some sleep tonight, you have bags that are definitely not designer." He gave her a dead-panned look. 

" Thank you, Yasmina, for the lovely compliments." At that, the professor walked back into the room, eyeing them suspiciously before sitting back at his desk.

Robbe turned back to his exam, and tried his hardest not to fall back asleep. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When lunch arrived, Robbe stepped outside to give his moms doctor a call after telling Sander and the boys that he was going to the bathroom. 

"My mom, she's uh, having an episode." Robbe said, gripping the fabric of his shirt nervously. 

"I see, are you with her now?" The ball of panic in Robbes chest grew again. 

"No, I had exams at school." He says, a shake to his voice as he pinches his wrist. 

"I see, can you take her to see me, say, 11a.m. tomorrow?" Robbe gaped. 

"Tomorrow?" He asked, concern and confusion in his voice. 

The doctor sighed. "Yes, we're all booked today unfortunately, and tomorrow, actually, but I should have time at 11, stay with your mom throughout the episodes from now on." 

"Alright." Robbe hung up, breathing slightly laboured at the fact that he left his mom alone just to take a fucking exam he was a lousy excuse for a son and he couldn't breathe... 

"Hey, Robbe." He spun around after feeling a hand on his shoulder to see Sander. He forced a smile onto his face and tried to control his erratic breathing.

"Hey Sander." He said, looking up at him, and ignoring the way the concern on his face made the panic in his chest continue to increase in size.

"What are you doing?" Sander asked, bringing his hands up to cup Robbes face.

"Oh, nothing, just about to go to you and the boys." He says, the lie making his empty stomach twist. 

"Well, they have those sandwiches you like, come." Sander brought his hands down to intertwine his fingers with Robbes, making him give Sander a soft smile and follow him as they walked to lunch.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Robbe got home from school that evening, he walked into the house to see his mom asleep on the couch. Smiling sadly to himself, he covers her with a blanket and treads with heavy feet to his room. 

Collapsing on his bed, he sees a text from Sander- 

'Doing okay?' He rolls his eyes to himself, but his heart clenches at the thought of making Sander worry, especially after just getting out of a deppresive episode. 

He types back a reply- 

'Of course, silly man' Robbe smiles to himself, the ball of panic in his chest loosening, if only slightly.

He goes to sit at his desk to rest his eyes, but ends up falling asleep. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waking up frantically, Robbe checks the clock on his desk, signing in relief at the sight of it only being 2am, reveling in the fact that he would not let his mom down this time. 

He pauses for a moment to listen silently, checking with his ears to see if his mom was awake, but when only silence answered he relaxed again and picked up his phone, startling at the multiple messages from his dad, Sander and the boy squad, along with a voice message and a missed call from Sander. 

He goes to his dads messages to see a long paragraph. 

'Robbe, all you have done is disappoint me. Why can you not come to a single dinner with your own father? You are a disgraceful son, I'm not contacting you again until you answer my phone calls.' 

The ball of panic in Robbes chest grows tenfold. His mom is going to be so upset at the current loss of contact from his father, and yet, he could not find it in himself to text back. He spirals and spirals deeper and deeper into his thoughts until he falls back asleep, his head falling harshly onto the desk with a quiet thump. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He wakes up to a crash in the kitchen that immediately sends his heart racing and causes the panic in his chest to begin growing steadily. 

Shooting up from his seat at the desk, he looks at his clock and is relieved by the fact that it isn't 11 yet, but that relief is almost completely crushed when he realizes he has less than 30 minutes to get him and his mom ready for the long bus ride that will take them to her doctor. 

He races into the kitchen for see her steadily digging through a cabinet, mumbling to herself as she throws pots and pans to the floor, seemingly looking for something. 

He takes a nervous step forward, something in his bones telling him not to let the urgency shine through in his voice. 

"Mom?" He asks, voice surprisingly steady though he felt like he was going to fall apart. 

She didn't answer, and be took ankther step towards her. 

"Mom? We need to get ready to leave." He placed a light hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. He tried not to tremble at the wild look in her eyes, one be hasn't seen since he left home. 

"Oh! Robbe, yes, let's go, go on get ready we have to be on the bus in 20 minutes." He nods slowly as she walks quickly to her room. He sighs and walks back to his room to get dressed quickly. 

He walks back out to the kitchen to see his mom at the door, dressed and looking ready to leave. He takes a tentative step forward. 

"Robbe, come on, we must go. I've been waiting hours for you to get ready." He nods and takes her hand, leading her gently to the bus where they step on. He hopes that he caught her early enough in the episode to where she wouldn't have to stay at the doctors to long. 

When they arrived, he gently grabbed her hand once again and led her into the office, checking in and going to the doctor he had talked with over the phone while his mom is takien into another room, only making the ball of panic in his chest double as it grows. The doctor sighs. 

"So, Robbe, we are fairly far into your mother's episode." Robbe looks at him with surprise and the doctor sighs once again. 

"You need to begin looking for warning signs, if you want to continue living with her, and if you want her to be able to continue living at home. " He begins breathing heavier as the doctor continues. "She will have to stay with us for about a week, but next time, if you catch the episode beginning, she will not have to stay for nearly as long. She is asleep now, but we will keep you updated on her state and you can come and visit when able." Robbe nods and somehow manages to stumble his way out of the office and to a bus stop, getting on the one that will lead to his and his moms house. He wonders how he will be able to live alone for a week, the thought doing nothing to calm his racing mind and doing nothing to decrease the size the ball of panic in his chest has gotten to.

He sits on the seat closest to the door of the bus and quickly pulls his phone out of his pockets to check the time. 1:30pm. He also sees all the unread texts from the boy squad and Sander and the missed calls from Sander. He swipes away the messages from the boys, there being to many to read through, and goes to his messages with Sander. 

'Hey, baby, are you okay?'

'Robbe, it's only 5, are you already asleep.'

'I know you haven't been feeling well lately, just talk to me, I'm worried.'

'Robbe, tomorrow is Saturday, I'm coming over at 2, see you then.'

He almost drops his phone in shock. He quickly reads the message again, and again, and again until it finally settles into his brain as his breathing begins to speed up. 

It was 1:50, it would take at least 5 minutes to get to his house, and he couldn't let Sander see him like this, pale, shakey, vulnerable. 

The bus pulled up to his house, and though he was relieved to see that Sander was not at the front door, it did nothing to quell his nerves of the fact that he would be there anytime soon. But Robbe could clean himself up, he could get his shit together in the few minutes that it would take for Sander to arrive. 

He runs off the bus and bursts through the front door, only to see Sander sitting at the couch, watching him steadily as he stands slowly. 

"Robbe.......?" Sander says as if it's a question, moving forward slowly as if not to startle him. 

Robbe moves faster than he ever has in his life. He rushes backward, his back hitting the wall behind him with a harsh thump as be raises his hands up with a quiet whimper. 

"Sander! No, you uh, you have to go, you can't..." He trails off as his breathing gets heavier and he starts to shake. 

Very suddenly, the ball of panic that has been growing in his chest for days now seems to finally break, he begins hyperventilating as he slides down the wall, continuing to keep his hands up to seperate himself from Sander.

Sander moves closer slowly and steadily, but Robbe doesn't have enough breath in him to tell Sander to stay away, he is to busy holding his hands up to wipe the tears that babe begun to track down his cheeks. 

Sander continues stepping forward until he is a foot away from Robbe. He kneels down, but doesn't touch Robbe, and for that he is grateful. He feels like he is going to die. 

"Robbe." Sander says steadily, and the voice steadies him slightly. "Robbe, you need to breathe, okay? Breathe with me." Sander begins to exaggerate his breaths loudly for Robbe to hear over his own racing heartbeat. He tries to follow Sanders breaths, but he stutters and gasps, his hands wrapping themselves around his body as he gasps for air. Sander scoots slightly closer. 

"Try again. Breathe with me." He says as he continued to exaggerate his slow steady breaths. Robbe tries and eventually is able follow. "That's good. Just like that. Steady breaths." Robbe nods, but tears continue to track their way down his cheeks.

"Can I touch you?" Sander whispers, and Robbe nods. Grabbing Robbes hand slowly, Sander brings it to his heart. It is beating steadily compared to Robbes racing heart. 

"Steady." Sander says, holding Robbes eyes with his own. After a minute, Robbe puts his eyes down in shame, or embarrassment, Sander can't quite tell which yet. 

"Hey." Robbe doesn't move. "Robbe." Sander says more insistently, and Robbes head inclines slightly towards him, but his eyes don't raise to meet Sanders. Sander brings Robbes hand to his lips, kissing the back of it. 

"Robbe." They sit for a few more minutes of Robbe staring at the wall, actively not making eye contact before Sander speaks up again. 

"Robbe, come on. Let's get in bed." Robbe doesn't move, nor respond, but Sander stands. "Robbe, it's 9." Robbe looks up in surprise. Then looks down again. He hadn't meant to waste a whole day because he couldn't get his shit together. Sander puts a finger under his chin to tilt his head in an attempt to make eye contact. It fails when Robbe moves his eyes away. 

"Robbe. Hey, come on." Sander grabs his hand, pulling him up and supporting almost all of his weight as they walk heavily to the bedroom. 

Closing the door behind them, Sander turns to Robbe to see him leaning heavily against the wall, eyelids drooping closed. He gives him a small smile and takes his hand, leading him to the bed and tucking himself and Robbe under the covers. Turning off the lamp beside the bed, Sander turns to Robbe to see him asleep. 

Smiling softly, Sander scoots forward until he is practically spooning Robbe, Sanders chest against Robbes back, his arms wrapped around his front with their legs intertwined. They would talk in the morning, but for now, Sander was content to fall asleep, arms around his boyfriend.


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up, Robbe felt like he had been hit by a bus. His chest was sore, his throat hurt, his stomach was growling, and his bed was severely lacking in Sander. Though when he remembered last night's events, he was almost thankful for that last bit, especially since he could smell the pancakes that Sander was preparing in the kitchen. 

Sitting up, he checked the time on his phone and sighed in defeat. It was already half past noon. He had practically wasted half of the day. He debated getting up, but chose not to in the end, instead, choosing to feign sleep when Sander walked into his childhood bedroom. 

"I know you're awake." Sander teased playfully, though there was a slight heaviness behind his words that suggested that they would definitely be talking about last night and if definitely would not be fun. 

Robbe opened his eyes to see a small smile play on Sanders lips, though he definitely noticed the sadness and worry in his eyes. He felt guilt churn in his stomach at the thought of putting it there. Sanders smile dropped as he noticed the change in Robbes face. 

"Hey." He said softly. Putting his hand on the side of Robbes face. "Come on. I made pancakes." His hand trailed to Robbes hair before ruffling it and stepping away into the kitchen. 

Robbe sighed after Sander made his way out of the room. Preparing himself for a conversation that he most definitely was not ready to have, he stood and slowly made his way to the kitchen. 

Walking inside, he saw Sander at the sink doing dishes and he smiled softly. 

"You don't have to wash up, you already cooked." He said, and Sander jumped slightly at the sudden noise. He looked back at Robbe and smiled, nodding to the table where a plate of pancakes awaited him. 

"Yeah, but I wanted to." Sander said, turning back to the dishes as Robbe poured an unholy amount of syrup onto his towering stack of pancakes. Sander sat down across from him and rolled his eyes but grinned as Robbe all but devoured his pancakes. 

When Robbe was finished, Sander threw his plate in the sink to be washed later and turned back to Robbe, only to see him walking to the bedroom. Sander sighed at his diversion tactics and followed behind him.

When he entered the room, he saw Robbe laying in the bed, his fingers fidgeting on top of his stomach as he stated up at the ceiling. Making no acknowledgement that he knew Sander was there. 

Sander sighed and stepped forward. Sitting on the bed, he placed his hand on Robbes ankle, getting him to finally look up at Sander only to glance away again. Sander squeezed his ankle before crossing his legs and facing Robbe. 

"You know," He began slowly, attempting to make eye contact with Robbe as his eyes glanced away. "You're not the only one who can help people." Robbe glanced up at him. He continued. 

"I know that, because of my bipolar, you feel like you have to take care of me," Robbe began to speak up but Sander cut him off immediately, knowing what he was going to say. "And that's good." Robbe relaxed. "I'm so so so thankful for you and everything you've done for me, to help me. But, I can be here for you too." Before Sander could continue, Robbe spoke up. 

"I never meant to make you feel incapable, I know that you can do anything." Guilt churned in his stomach at the thought of burdening the person who has made him feel safe and happy and loved. "I just, I know you have your own problems. There's no need to add mine to your load." 

Sander sighed. "Robbe. We need to help each other. Not just you helping me. I want to help you too, and I can. We have to help each other's loads, okay? Not just add to yours." Sander cups Robbes face in his hands, and leans close. "Let me help you." He says, leaning in go kiss him softly. Robbe grabs at the back of his neck, pulling him closer. "I love you, let me love you." He says, pecking Robbes lips once more before pulling back, much to Robbes dismay. 

Sander smiled sadly. "Please." He said softly, running his fingers through Robbes hair. He nodded, pulling Sander closer to him by the back of his neck, he kissed him again. And again. And again, slightly frantic. As he tried to pull him closer. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll try I promise." Robbe says as Sander pulls away, trying to bring him back in for a kiss, bug Sander puts a hand on his chest, pushing him back slightly. At that, Robbe deflates, and Sander chuckles, but has a sad look on his face. 

"What happened, last night Robbe. What's been going on? Talk to me." Robbe shrinks in on himself, but Sander pulls him closer, resuming the position they fell asleep in last night as he brushes his hands through Robbes hair. 

"I..." Robbe starts, but curls in on himself slightly, causing Sander to pull him impossibly closer, brushing the hair out of his face. 

"It's uh, mostly been a mixture of things." Robbie sighs. 

"Hm." Sander hums in acknowledgement, but doesn't say anything for fear of making Robbe stop talking when he's being more open than Sander has ever seen him. Robbe clutches Sanders hand as tears well up in his eyes, and Sanders heart breaks. 

"I haven't, uh, I haven't been sleeping." His voice cracks along with Sanders heart, as a tear falls down his cheek. "I'll not sleep for days on end, and then I'll sleep a whole day away." He clutches Sanders hand tighter and Sander squeezes it lightly back, urging him to continue. Another tear falls down his cheek.

"My mum, she hasn't been doing well. She's going to be in the hospital for the next week or so. I couldn't stay with her yesterday because of tests and now she's worse than she would've been if I had just stayed." His voice cracks as two more tears fall down. Sander shakes his head softly but doesn't speak. He squeezes Robbes hand again.

"My dad, he won't leave me alone." More tears fall. "He called me a bad son, and won't stop calling. He just won't leave me alone." Robbe presses his hands to his eyes to stop the tears, but Sander pries them away gently. He holds Robbe close as he cries. 

"It's okay. Hey, it's okay." He whispers as Robbe clutches his hand like a lifeline. Robbe continues speaking through his tears. 

"I feel like I'm failing everyone." Sander shakes his head but let's Robbe continue. "I'm failing my mom, my dad, you. I need to be strong, but I don't know how to be strong anymore." He presses his hands to his eyes again as his tears turn into sobs. Sander pulls him closer and says nothing. Pressing kisses to the top of his head, he wipes away Robbes tears as the sobs slow. Robbe looks down in embarrassment, but continues to hold tightly to Sanders hand. 

"Sorry." He says softly, but Sander shushes him, and holds him tightly before speaking a few minutes later. 

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for." Robbe goes to speak but Sander stops him. "You are not failing anyone by being human, by being alive. Everyone has hard days, hard weeks, hard months and even hard years. But when they let people in, when they let people help, the days, weeks, months and years that are bad begin to feel shorter. You have never, will never, be a failure to me or your mom. Your dad has never been a great dad, and it's okay to still feel a connection of wanting to be approved there, but just know that you are not worth what he thinks of you. Your sleeping, we will figure it out. As a team, okay?" Sander looks him in the eye, and Robbe doesn't look away. "As a team." 

"As a team." Robbe repeats in a whisper, holding Sander closer as they fall asleep in Robbes childhood home, as a team.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic because I never see hurt/comfort fics where Sander is the one comforting Robbe, and this is what came out!


End file.
